


making time

by helsinkibaby



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Exposure to a Deadly Virus, F/M, Het, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:42:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25346407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: Exposure to a deadly pathogen heralds a change in Steve and Noelani’s relationship.
Relationships: Noelani Cunha/Steve McGarrett
Comments: 10
Kudos: 36





	1. instinct

**Author's Note:**

> I looked at “Death at Sea” and wondered what would happen if Noelani had been on that boat. And why would Steve have let her off that helicopter? That explains chapter one. The rest are a series of little vignettes that sprang off from that universe.

It’s three hours after exposure when Steve finds Noelani sitting on the deck, scribbling in a notebook. “What you got there?” he asks her, sitting down on the bench beside her and making himself comfortable. Well, as comfortable as he can considering they’ve all been exposed to an unknown pathogen and handed a death sentence. 

“I’m making note of any symptoms I have, anything I observe in the four of you.” She closes the notebook, attaches the pen to it and puts them both down beside her. He can’t help but notice her hand is trembling slightly and he wonders if it’s fear or the virus or some combination of both. “There should be a record just in case-” She doesn’t finish the thought; she doesn’t have to. There should be a record about the effects of this virus in case none of them make it out alive. She presses her lips together, sucks in a deep breath and gives him a shaky smile. 

He hopes the smile he gives her is a lot more reassuring. “Well, I’ve been giving Danny some space... and last I saw, Junior was going to look for Tani.” 

Her smile looks a lot more genuine. “I checked her vitals fifteen minutes ago... she said that up until a few hours ago, being on a boat like this, soaking up the sun, would have sounded like heaven.” Her smile has turned wistful again by the end and he has to look away from her, looks out to sea and shakes his head. 

“I’m sorry, Noelani.” 

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees her head turning sharply towards him, sees her frown. “For what?” she asks. He doesn’t answer straight away, he can’t, and she must make a guess because she says, “Commander, none of this is your fault.” 

Except the use of his title reminds him that it is. “You’re not supposed to be here, remember?” 

“That’s what this is about?” She leans forward a little, like she’s trying to catch his eye. “I’m the medical examiner, I was doing my job-”

“I broke protocol.” He interrupts her and he doesn’t feel a bit guilty about doing it. “We should have cleared the boat first, made sure everything was okay, then brought you down.”

“And I asked you not to.” Her hand closes on his knee and it startles him a little, has him turning his head to look at her, to look into her eyes. “I believe my exact words were ‘I’ll stay at the back, I won’t move, I’ll hide until you give me the go ahead’... you remember that?” 

He remembers all right. Remembers the fear that had been written all over her face, in every clenched muscle of her body, no matter how much Junior or Danny had tried to make her feel better. “Yeah,” he says. “I remember.” 

“I asked you,” she tells him again. “I’m a big girl, Commander, you don’t get to blame yourself for choices I made.”

Her voice is strong, her gaze steady on his and he can tell she really believes what she’s saying. Except it doesn’t matter because he knows something she doesn’t. “That’s not the point,” he says and she frowns. He anticipates her next question and he knows he should stop talking. He should stand up and walk away from this whole conversation. Instead, he says, “It’s why.” 

“Why?” 

“Why I broke protocol. Why I let you off the helo when you should never have been anywhere near this boat.” 

Her frown deepens. “It was because I hate helicopters. Because I was terrified the whole flight over here...”

“And I hated seeing you like that.” He really needs to stop talking but the words just keep coming. Maybe that’s a symptom of the virus. Maybe she should write it down in her little notebook. “I would have done anything to make it stop.” He rubs his hand over his lips, hoping it’ll stop the word vomit. 

“What are you saying?” she asks him and to be honest, he doesn’t know. To him, it sounds like too much, for her it’s obviously not enough, so he does the only thing that he can, the only thing that he knows. The very thing that’s got him both into and out of hot water time and time again in his life, the very reason that she’s here with him now. He goes with his instinct. 

Which tells him to reach out, take her chin very gently in his hand, and kiss her. Slowly at first, carefully, because he figures he has enough medical issues without adding a black eye or broken jaw into the mix. But when her mouth opens under his, when her tongue flicks at his upper lip, when her fingers begin to move through his hair, he figures that this time, following his instincts might have been a good call. 

He doesn’t know how long they stay like that but even when their lips part, he still rests his forehead against hers, one of his hands at the back of her head, the other somehow holding hers. But he knows his lips are curled up in a smile and hers are too and this horrible, awful day seems just a little bit brighter. 

Noelani smiles as she looks at him and the only word to describe it is teasing. “So I’m seeing dilated pupils... shortness of breath... possible elevated heart rate... am I missing anything, Commander?” 

He can think of a couple of things. “Nothing you need to record in your little book, that’s for sure,” he tells her, trailing his hand down her cheek. The reminder of why they’re here makes her eyes drop and he squeezes their joined hands. “We’re getting out of this, Noelani,” he tells her. 

She nods, but her eyes show doubt. “I know.” 

“And when we do... how about I take you to dinner? You pick the place... I’ll even pay.” 

Her laugh at that is genuine and when she nods, he can’t help himself, he leans forward and kisses her again. 

Once again, he loses track of time but reality comes back in the sound of Danny’s voice. “Seriously? Are you kidding me right now?” Steve pulls back, fixes him with a glare as Noelani turns her head away from Danny, tucking her face into Steve’s chest. He’d be worried if he couldn’t feel her trembling with laughter. 

“Do you mind?”

“Do I mind? Do I mind? Do I mind that you’re out here, making time with a pretty woman while we’re facing certain death?” Danny stops, one hand on his hip, the other rubbing his forehead. “Actually, it’s probably the most sensible thing you’ve done in the whole seven years I’ve known you. Carry on.” 

With that, he turns and walks away and Noelani gives up trying to hide her giggles, all but collapsing into Steve’s arms. Grinning himself, Steve slides his finger under her chin, tilts her head up to face him. “Don’t tell Danny I said this,” he murmurs, “but for once, I think he’s got the right idea.” 

Her lips fit against his perfectly and he closes his eyes, lets himself get lost for a few precious moments. He knows they can’t stay like this forever; he has a case to run, even if it’s over the radio, she’s going to catalogue symptoms, liaise with medics onland. They both have jobs that they have to do and the job always comes first. 

But today, for once, he makes an exception.


	2. rescue

“How’s he doing, Doc?” 

But Steve doesn’t need to see Noelani’s face to know the answer. 

Danny is dying. 

They’re all dying, he knows that. The last time Steve felt this bad, it was because of Freddie Hart, a bottle of tequila and a nightclub in Manila that Steve barely remembers, although he does remember the laughter, Freddie’s smile as they’d attracted the attention of who knows how many women. 

That had been a lot more fun than being infected with this damn virus. 

Plus, he’d known then that he wasn’t actually going to die, even if it did feel like it as he drove the porcelain bus for what seemed like hours. Now, though, he can feel death creeping ever closer, can see it in the shadows under Tani’s eyes, the drawn look on Junior’s face, the way Danny’s chest is only barely rising and falling. 

And he can definitely see it in the lost expression in Noelani’s eyes when she turns to look at him. 

She bites her lip and he looks past her to Danny, who’s barely conscious, the virus having hit him harder than anyone else. With a silent apology to his friend, Steve reaches down, takes Noelani’s hand to help her up. She’s slow to move, each action an effort and when she turns to face him, she leans into him, her eyes fluttering shut just before her forehead finds his chest and his arms wrap around her. 

“I don’t know how much more I can do for him.” He can barely hear her soft whisper and he tightens his grip on her, thinks back to a few hours ago when he promised her they were going to get out of this. 

“You’ve done everything you can,” he reminds her and she looks up at that, her gaze fierce, almost angry. 

“It’s not enough.” She sounds angry too and in spite of everything, he wants to smile. He just doesn’t have the energy to make his lips move. He’s seen that side to Noelani before, it had been one of the things that attracted him to her. Kissing her on the deck earlier on, he’d been hopeful that he’d get to see it a lot more. “I hate this.” 

He pulls her close again and she goes, her shoulders slumping. “I know.” He rests his cheek against the top of her head, closes his eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t ask you out sooner.” 

The words falling from his lips surprise him but she doesn’t move. “Me too,” she murmurs and it’s the first clue - apart from her not hauling off and slugging him when he’d kissed her - that his attraction wasn’t completely one sided. He feels her lift her arms from her sides, slowly move them so that she’s holding onto his waist, her fingers making fists in the material of his t-shirt. She sucks in a shuddering breath and he leans back just enough that he can tuck his finger under her chin, lift her face to his. 

He’s about to kiss her but the radio squawks to life before he can. 

Usually, that would annoy him. But considering it’s Grover telling him that he’s on with way with an antidote, he figures that, in Danny’s words, making time with Noelani can wait. 

He still kisses her quickly, fiercely, more in relief than passion, before making his way upstairs. 

Of course, it would be too good to be true if things worked out easily for them. The seas are rough, the skies black and stormy, the boat buffeting back and forth and the precious case ends up in the water. He doesn’t think twice, goes in right after it, and it’s hard to find, seems to take forever but he manages it, thanks his lucky stars that Junior and Tani are there to help pull him back aboard. 

He hands the case straight to Noelani, who is staring at him with eyes that are dark and wide and, frankly, terrified. But once her hand closes around the case, he sees her snap back into doctor mode, sees her nod once as she leads them all down below. She opens the case and the relief when they see five intact vials is palpable. 

Still, her hands shake visibly when she goes to pull the first one out and she has to take a deep breath before her fingers close around it. Before she can lift it, Steve acts on instinct, closes his fingers around her shoulder, squeezes gently. “You’ve got this,” he tells her quietly and if, out of the corner of his eye he sees Tani flash a grin in Junior’s direction, he doesn’t mention it. 

Another deep breath and she’s administering the antidote to Danny, then one by one to Steve, then Junior, then Tani. Steve insists on administering her dose and she doesn’t fight him on it, just rolls up her sleeve and presents her arm to him. 

Then there’s nothing to do but wait for the storm to die down so the helo can come and rescue them. Steve’s not leaving Danny’s side and Noelani wants to stay with him too, so Tani and Junior go up to keep watch, or maybe just to give Steve and Noelani some privacy. Which Steve takes full advantage of, sitting beside her and letting his arm fall around her shoulders. 

He doesn’t do that on the helo but he does make sure he’s sitting beside her and he holds her hand as they take off and all through the flight. He sees Grover tilt his head and narrow his eyes when he sees that but the relief of the rescue is starting to hit Steve so he just lets his head fall back and his eyes close and figures if anything is said, he’ll blame it on Noelani’s fear of flying. 

That’s the last bit of peace he knows for a while, because once the helo touches down at King’s Medical, they’re all whisked off to quarantine where they’re going to have to stay for the next week. Danny sleeps through most of it and Tani and Junior head for their own beds in fairly short order too. Steve wants to, he does, every cell in his body screaming to lie down and close his eyes but before he does, he catches Noelani’s hand in his. 

Her lips curl up in a small smile as she glances around, confirming that they’re alone. There’s a lot more colour in her cheeks than there was a couple of hours ago, even if the shadows under her eyes are more pronounced than ever. Her cheek is warm when he runs his knuckles along it and he takes that as a good sign as well.

“Told you we’d get out of there,” he says and the smile he gets in response is worth every second of fear. 

Her hands move to his chest, picking at the material of his t-shirt. “Yes, you did.” She looks around again, taking in the living quarters, the bathroom through one door, the two other closed doors that house the bedrooms. “But when you mentioned dinner, I was hoping for something better than hospital food.” 

Steve stifles his laugh, runs his hands down her back to distract him. “Oh, we can definitely do better than that. And on the bright side, we have all this time to plan it...”

“Just promise me no boats, no helicopters. I want my feet on solid ground.”

She’s very firm about that and he can’t exactly blame her but he doesn’t have to think about his response. “And there I was hoping I could sweep you off them.” 

Noelani presses her lips together but she can’t do anything about the flash of delight that lights up her eyes. “I suppose you could try...” She says it with a theatrical sigh and Steve knows, like he knows his own name, that things with this woman are never going to be dull. 

He likes the sound of that. 

“We should get some rest,” he says, reluctant to take his leave of her but so tired that he can hardly stand up. Not to mention that there’s a very comfortable looking couch across the room and if he doesn’t get to bed soon, he’s going to suggest that they lie down there, just so he can hold her for a few minutes longer. And if he does _that_ , he knows there’s no way he’ll wake up for hours and he’s pretty sure she feels the same. 

So, no matter how tempting she is, or that couch is, he steps back. “Good night, Noelani,” he says big this time, she’s the one who grips his hand, doesn’t let him leave. 

“What if I want a goodnight kiss?” she asks, that same smile on her lips and Steve can’t bring himself to refuse her so he doesn’t.


	3. statement

When he woke up this morning, Steve had actually been optimistic about the day. After all, it was the day that they were finally getting out of quarantine, the day when he and Noelani were finally going to have their first date, to say nothing of some time alone after being surrounded by a veritable Greek Chorus for the last six days. 

Danny getting shot was not part of the plan. 

Having a bomb strapped to the door, Noelani having to do emergency surgery with the bare equipment necessary was not part of the plan. 

And watching Danny be wheeled away from him, fighting for his life? 

Definitely not part of the plan. 

“You can’t go with him.” 

The doctor blocks Steve’s path and every instinct in his body wants to push him to the side, follow Danny’s gurney down the hall and into surgery. He wants to know what’s going on, wants to make sure his friend is all right. 

But they still have to be checked for any signs of the virus, shooting or no shooting, so he reigns in his impulses and turns back to the room, takes a deep breath and runs his hand over his face. Junior and Tani are standing there staring at him, but there’s one person who’s not there. Her absence makes him frown and Tani - who’s bonded with Noelani over the last six days, mostly over how gross it is to be living in such close quarters with three men - jerks her head in the direction of the bathroom. 

He nods, a wordless promise that he’s got this. 

He steps carefully into the bathroom, rather less because of Noelani and more because Tani had done a good job of flooding the place. He might be in King’s Medical but he’s supposed to be getting out today and he’s spent most of the past six days planning this evening, making good on his offer of taking Noelani to dinner. He thinks that plan might be scuppered now but it’s not going to be because he’s given himself concussion by slipping on a wet floor. Danny would never let him hear the end of it. 

The thought of Danny, of where is he right now, has fear rising up in his throat and he forces it back, compartmentalises. Time to focus on the issue at hand. 

Time to focus on Noelani, as he's been doing for so much of the last few days. Except this time, she's not meeting his gaze across the room, smiling a smile that’s just for him. She's standing at the sink, hands white knuckled on the counter, elbows locked and rigid. “Hey,” is all he says and then she’s turning towards him, stepping in his direction. They meet each other halfway, her arms going around his waist, his wrapping around her shoulders, his chin resting on the top of her head. He can feel her trembling and he tightens his grip on her, presses a kiss into her hair. 

“You were amazing,” he tells her and he means every word. 

She huffs a soft laugh into his shoulder. “I didn’t feel amazing.” Her voice is so low that Steve can barely hear her. “It’s a long time since I operated on someone... even with Doctor Keller telling me what to do... and the fact it was Danny...” A shudder wracks her body. 

“Hey... hey.” He cups her face in his hands, tilts her head back so she can see him. “I get you being afraid. We were all afraid. But you did it... you saved his life.” He kisses her quickly, then pulls her into his arms again. “You did good.” He rests his cheek on top of her head. “You did great.” 

There’s a moment of silence, then he hears her giggle. He’s wondering if it’s a hint of hysteria creeping in, but when she speaks, she just sounds amused. “So the first day you kiss me, we’re exposed to a deadly virus. The day we’re supposed to have our first date, we’re held hostage in an attempted murder suicide and I have to perform emergency surgery.” 

Considering their entire relationship has spanned six days, that’s a lot of drama. And it’s not like there were a lot of stolen moments for them in that time either - living with three other people in such close quarters was hardly conducive to romance. In fact, that brief peck just now is the first time he's kissed her since they'd stolen a few moments together when they'd arrived into quarantine that first day. “Not the best start, is it?” Steve allows and she giggles again. 

“Well, at least it’ll never be dull,” she says and he likes the sound of that. She’s not running in the other direction anyway; he’ll take that. 

“So you’re planning on sticking around then?” he asks, just to make sure and she lifts her head, gives him a sassy grin that he’d never seen before six days ago but one that he’s looking forward to seeing a lot more often. 

“Well, you did invite me out to dinner and since I have it on good authority that you never pay for anything...” He shakes his head then, bites his lip because he’d known his team were whispering in her ear over the last six days. “I figure I should take one for the team and see if miracles really do happen.” She’s laughing by the end of the speech and so is he, pulling her back into his arms. 

Of course, that’s when they hear the door opening and then they’re separated by gender, taken for testing and, thankfully, given a clean bill of health. A fresh outfit is waiting for each of them and Tani and Noelani are waiting for him and Junior when they emerge. They all head down to the waiting room together, hug the rest of their Ohana waiting for news on Danny. Steve doesn't miss how Eric holds on to him for just a little longer than everyone else and with his customary loud personality and exuberance missing in action, the kid's never seemed younger to Steve. 

After a while, Kamekona and Flippa attempt to lighten the mood, teasing Steve about his new haircut and no-one in the room appears to be a fan. Steve takes the teasing completely in stride, letting them have their fun before saying, “As long as my girl likes it, right?” 

He looks down at Noelani as he speaks, smiles when her eyes meet his. He lifts one eyebrow in question, wordlessly asking her opinion, hoping she’ll back him up. Too late he realises that she’d never actually said anything when he’d emerged from the bathroom, brandishing the clippers - Danny had said enough for everyone, and then the doors had opened and they’d all been preoccupied after that. It takes all his SEAL training not to sigh with relief when she nods, her lips curling in a smile as her cheeks turn pink. 

He grins too - that was a warmer reaction than he’d had any right to hope for and considering the circumstances, he thinks he’ll be forgiven for losing himself in her smile for a second or two. It’s only when he looks back at their friends that he realises that the colour on her cheeks might not be all about him. Because every person in the room is either looking at him or at Noelani and, apart from Junior and Tani, they’re either wearing expressions of surprise or confusion, or some unholy mixture of both. 

Right, he remembers. They’ve spent the last six days in quarantine, living together before they’d ever had their first date. He’d assumed news of their relationship status had leaked out, that Grover had noticed it on the helo back from the boat and told everyone; obviously he’d assumed wrong. 

“Your... girl?” It’s Jerry who breaks the silence that’s fallen, his eyes moving between Steve and Noelani, a look on his face that Steve has only seen when the other man is trying to unravel various conspiracy theories. 

Steve looks down at Noelani and shrugs, in apology and resignation. Lucky for him, her smile remains bright and she reaches out, slides her hand into his and laces their fingers together, making a clear statement without saying a thing. “Yeah, Jerry,” Steve says, but he never looks away from Noelani. “My girl.” 

“Woah, Commander.” Eric’s voice, stunned with a side of extra Jersey, has him turning his head. “What’s Uncle D gonna say when he finds out you’re out here, making time with Noelani when he’s in there, fighting for his life?”

He sounds so like Danny, down to the exact words, that Steve can’t answer because of the sudden lump that rises into his throat. Noelani’s fingers tighten on his but it’s Kamekona who comes to the rescue. “Carry on, mostly likely,” he opines and Eric tilts his head, considering for a second before his face clears and he nods. 

“Probably.” 

That breaks the tension in the room and everyone laughs, a sound that stops abruptly when the doctor arrives. For a second, the world stops spinning, but then Doctor Keller smiles and says the words everyone’s been waiting to hear. 

Hugs are exchanged and Noelani’s arms are around his neck as he lifts her off her feet and, just like six days ago when he kissed her for the first time, the day starts to look a little bit brighter.


	4. brooding

Steve sits at his desk, staring at the picture in his hand, lost in his thoughts. He's so lost, in fact, that he actually startles when there's a firm knock at his door and when he looks up, he sees Noelani standing in the partially open doorway, brow furrowed, her bottom lip caught between her teeth.

"I knocked-" she begins and he shakes his head quickly, dropping the picture on the table and standing up.

"I'm sorry," he says, cutting her off. She doesn't look upset at it though, instead giving him a small smile as she steps inside. The door closes behind her and looking beyond, he can see that they are the only two here. "I meant to call you after the raid but..."

"You came back here and started brooding instead?" She says it like she's teasing him, all curved lips and twinkling eyes and he finds himself smiling as he looks down, his hands on his hips. "Tani's words, not mine."

So that's how she'd known he was here. Then again, it wouldn't have been a hard guess - the only other place he might be is Danny's hospital room and the only reason he isn't is because Rachel and the kids got in a couple of hours ago and he's giving them some space and family time together. "Oh, I see... so you two are ganging up on me, is that it?"

"A little bit?" She drops her purse onto the chair across from his, tilts her head. "Tani told me you didn't find anything useful?"

"Just this." He flips the photo face up on his desk, watches her face as she reads it. Her nose wrinkles and it's definitely cuter to look at that than at the picture that's already seared onto the back of his eyelids.

"He deserved to die?" Noelani actually shudders, wraps her arms around herself and Steve finds himself thinking that he should be wrapping his arms around her, to comfort her.

Then he remembers.

They're not in King's Medical, in quarantine any more. Danny, Tani and Junior aren't on the other side of the wall or the other side of the room just waiting to give him shit if he looks at her too long. They're not going to know if he goes up to her, stands a hair's breadth in front of her and lets his hands fall to her shoulders, the way he's been thinking about ever since he first kissed her six days ago, or maybe for even longer than that.

So that's exactly what he does.

He feels her tension the second that his hands touch her, just the same way that, as he starts to rub gentle circles on her skin, he feels her start to relax. "He's gone, Noelani. He can't hurt anyone anymore." To be honest, he's not sure if he's trying to convince her or himself. "Danny's going to be fine... it's over."

She looks down, her shoulders rising and falling with a deep breath. Then, slowly, she raises her hands and places them on his chest. It's a light touch, but he feels it all the way through his body. When she smiles up at him, he feels that too. "But you're still here." A pause, deliberate, he knows. "Brooding."

He can't help himself; he grins, quirks an eyebrow. "You got a better offer for me?" He hears how the words sound and for a moment he second guesses himself, wonders if that's too forward when they haven't even had their first official date yet. But when her eyes dance and her smile widens and her fingers play with the buttons of his shirt, he figures that she might not be offended.

"I don't know..." She draws out the words. "I seem to remember someone mentioned dinner... even offered to pay..."

Steve shakes his head and chuckles. "You have spent way too much time with my team and it shows."

"Hey, we had to talk about something..."

"And it had to be me?"

"Danny had a lot to say!" she laughs. He rolls his eyes and tries to think of the various different ways he can make Danny pay for that. Then he remembers how close they came to losing him today and he thinks again. Which means that he crosses approximately ninety-five percent of them off his mental list; the other five he saves for a rainy day.

Besides, when he slides his hands slowly down the length of her spine, lets them come to rest just above the small of her back, her eyes go very dark and she shivers, her smile changing from amused to something else.

Something Steve could definitely get used to.

"Danny always has a lot to say," he tells her, one hand staying on her back, the other moving up to cup her cheek. "But I really... really... don't want to talk about him now."

Her lips curl up in a smile that feels as good as it looks and he loses himself in the taste and feel of her. It’s only the second time he’s kissed her, properly kissed her, since six days ago on the boat when they’d been facing almost certain death. He’d wondered, the way you do in those hazy moments before falling asleep at night, if the danger that had pushed him to act on his interest had heightened the emotions in a way that wouldn’t happen in the cold light of day, although their quiet conversations during quarantine had given him cause to believe the exact opposite. 

Kissing Noelani though, here, in his office with danger a thing of the past?

Blows all those concerns out of the water. 

His hand on her cheek moves to tangle in her hair, angling her head back for better access as his other hand moves further down along the curve of her ass. He presses their lower bodies closer together as he opens his mouth to hers and the little whimper she makes is the best sound he’s heard in months. It’s instantly bettered, though, by the soft gasp he hears when his lips trail down her neck, nipping at her collarbone. One of her hands moves across his scalp and he feels her smile, has to pull away to see her face, raise one eyebrow in a wordless question. 

She shrugs, still smiling, cheeks flushed and growing darker by the second. “Turns out I really like the hair,” she says, reaching up so that both hands are on his head. “Like... really like.” 

Just like that, an image rips through his mind, her lying down, head thrown back in ecstasy, her hands moving over his scalp as he buries his head between her legs, driving her out of her mind. Hunger, want, need, they all thunder through him and he takes a deep breath to steady himself. 

“We need to get dinner,” he says, the words surprising even him. She blinks up at him and he runs a hand down her cheek. “Or I’m not gonna stop.” 

“Who says I want you to?” Her fingers toy with the top button on his shirt and his close over hers, the touch gentle. 

“Noelani, our first time’s not gonna be on the floor of my office.” Her head tilts in the direction of the couch and damn... he’s going to be thinking about that for a long time. 

“We’ve been living together for the past six days,” she tells him bluntly. “You really...” Her hands trail down the buttons of his shirt. “Really need to take me home.” 

There's only one thing to say to that. “Yes, ma’am.”


	5. morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first morning they wake up together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have all seen the rating change, yes?

Life as a Navy SEAL conditioned Steve to wake up quickly and it’s a habit that he’s never really been able to break in civilian life. So, when his eyes open, he registers pretty quickly that he’s not in his own bed. Which has been the case for the past week, so it’s not too much of a surprise. But this bed is not in King’s Medical Quarantine Area, so it’s far more comfortable, to say nothing of larger. And, most importantly, he’s not waking to the sound of Junior’s deep breathing or Danny’s light snoring, but to something far, far more pleasurable. 

Instead of those noises, instead of him being in bed alone, he’s wrapped around Noelani’s warm body, her back against his chest, his knees tucked in behind hers and her hair tickling his nose. Which is probably what woke him up, to be honest, but as he lifts his head off the pillow, smoothing down the hair and continuing to run his hand down her side, he can’t find it in himself to mind. Not if it means they get to continue last night’s activities. The thought stirs his interest, amongst other things, and he leans in, presses a kiss to her shoulder, then another and another and another, moving up her neck. 

He only pauses when she shifts against him and only the fact that her eyes are still closed makes him doubt she did it deliberately. “Good morning,” he says, kissing her cheek this time and she makes a noise that indicates the exact opposite of his words. It makes him grin. “Not a morning person?” 

She opens her eyes then, looks over her shoulders at him. “Why am I not surprised that you are?” she asks, before she rolls over onto her back. The action dislodges the covers a little, making them slip down and it takes everything in him to keep his eyes on her face. The devilish little smile that appears as she slides one arm around his neck, making the sheets slide lower still, tells him she knows exactly what she’s doing. “I bet you’re one of those crazy people who runs five miles before breakfast or tries to swim to the next island or something crazy...” 

A five mile run would actually be a mild morning workout for him but he doesn’t tell her that. Instead he runs a hand down her side. “Private beach in my backyard,” he reminds her. “Makes it a little easier.” 

“Ah.” She arches into his touch. “I hope you won’t miss it too much...” 

He shrugs. “I’m sure we can find another way to get my heart rate up.” 

The words hang in the air between them for a second. Then Noelani bursts into peals of giggles and Steve follows suit immediately after. “That was bad,” he says and she laughs even harder, wrinkles her nose for good measure. 

“That was pretty bad,” she agrees but it doesn’t stop her other arm from going around his neck, sliding up to cup the back of his head. Her fingertips run across his hair and he flashes back to the previous night when she’d done much the same thing. 

“I’m sorry. I’ll stop talking.” Still chuckling, he leans down and brings his lips to hers, her smile managing to feel even better than it looks. She responds enthusiastically to his kiss, arching her back and allowing one of his hands to find its way to tracing a path along her back while the other slides down to her hip. From last night, he knows there’s a spot on her neck that drives her absolutely crazy so he concentrates on finding that again, knows he’s been successful when she actually moans his name. 

“I’ll forgive you.” He thinks she’s probably trying for sassy and flirty but the breathless tone in her voice makes that an impossibility, even more so when he moves his hand between her legs, when her hips buck and her hands clench on his skin. “Oh my God...” 

“Yeah?” He whispers the word against her skin, a genuine question because last night they’d tumbled into bed on the back of six days of living together in quarantine, which had been bookended by one day filled with their impending death by deadly pathogen on one end and a day where they’d watched a gunman shoot their friend and then himself on the other. The week since he’d kissed her for the first time had been one drama after another and their love making had reflected that, fast and frantic, not a lot of finesse, on either of their parts. 

Not that Steve is complaining about that, far from it. 

But this? This is different. As the morning sun streams through the blinds, illuminating her skin - and Steve can look now, can feast his eyes on her body to his heart’s content - he wants nothing more than to make this good for her. He wants to catalogue every touch, every reaction, file it away as he learns what it takes to make her come apart and then he wants to do it all again. 

“Yeah...” Her voice is higher in pitch now, almost a gasp and she bites her lip as if to keep any noise back which simply won’t do at all. 

Brushing his lips across hers first, he deepens the kiss by sweeping his tongue across her lips before whispering, “I want to hear you.” She whimpers, her eyes fluttering shut but when he twists his hand against her, a moan tears itself from her throat and her eyes fly open. 

“Steve...“ He will never, he knows, get sick of hearing her say his name like that. “Don’t stop.” 

“I won’t, sweetheart.” He kisses her again then, long and slow, all the while keeping up his ministrations until she’s spent and shaking. 

Then, just as slowly, he gathers her close and keeps on kissing her, starting her up the path all over again. 

He can’t think of a better way to start his day.


	6. dinner

“So...” Leaning back against the pillows of his hospital bed, there’s a wide grin on Danny’s face. Steve’s pretty sure that it can’t entirely be blamed on the painkillers they’re pumping through his system. 

He’s also pretty sure he know what the look is in aid of, that Danny’s getting ready to interrogate him. Or yank his chain. Or both. And since Danny’s already in the hospital, he doesn’t feel too guilty about yanking his chain right back. “So?” He arranges his features into the most innocent expression he knows. 

Predictably Danny is not impressed. 

“So I walk in on you making time with Noelani, I spend six days in quarantine watching you two make googly eyes across the room at each other...” He raises his eyebrows almost like he's daring Steve to contradict him. Which is fair, since it's Steve's normal state of being. However, since Danny has him dead to rights here, he keeps his mouth shut. “And since this is the first time you’ve been here in forty eight hours, I’m hoping that you’ve actually been somewhere having a life rather than going straight back to work.” 

Steve’s absence had actually been more to let Rachel and the kids have some time with Danny, and he knows Eric has been a constant presence too, usually co-ordinating Skype chats with Danny's understandably worried family. Still though, Steve can’t help himself; when he thinks about the last two days - very little of which have been spent at work, nor even thinking about work - he’s powerless to stop the smile that spreads across his face. 

Of course Danny notices it. His chest is bandaged, not his eyes. “What is that? Is that a smile I see on your face?” 

Steve shrugs his shoulders, rubbing his hand over his chin. He knows it won’t do a thing to hide his grin but he doesn’t actually care that much. “What can I say?” he says, raising his hands expansively. 

“Oh, I bet you can say plenty. Although I beg you not to, seeing as I’m already in the hospital and don’t know how many of the details I can take.” 

“You’re not getting all the details,” Steve tells him firmly. “But I will say Noelani and I have spent the last couple of days together and...” He waggles his head from side to side, choosing his words carefully. “It’s been good.” 

Good is an understatement actually but he really doesn’t want to push his luck with Danny. “Good?” Danny looks impressed. “Coming from Commander I Don’t Talk About My Feelings? Does Noelani know you’re this serious about her?”

There’s a teasing note to his voice, a smile on his face but his eyes tell a completely different story. “Early days, Danny,” Steve reminds him. “But... I'm heading over to her place after this. She’s gonna cook, we’re gonna have a quiet night in...” He doesn't go into any more details than that, fairly sure that Danny is able to fill in the blanks on his own. And if the memory of the last two nights brings a smile to his face that no doubt helps Danny out, well, that's not Steve's fault. 

"She's... ah... she's actually really great." Danny's words take Steve somewhat by surprise and Danny makes a face as he shifts on the bed, like he's trying to get comfortable. "I've seen you. Looking at her when you thought no-one was watching."

"Oh, you did?"

"I did. I did. I was wondering what it would take to get you to make a move; a deadly virus and me getting shot was not anywhere on my list." He tilted his head, affecting sudden surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry, were you under the impression that you were being subtle?" Steve presses his lips together because he actually had thought that. Danny laughs. "Get out of here," he tells Steve. "Go see your girlfriend. Far be it from me to stand between you and true love." 

Steve's not sure if they're quite at that stage but he's got a good feeling so he doesn't dispute the characterisation, something that's not lost on Danny if the vaguely appraising look in his eye is anything to go by. "You gonna be okay?" 

"I'm in the hospital, what's the worst that can happen?" Too late, Danny realises what he's said and he waves his hand. "Fair point. Look, Rachel's bringing the kids in a little while. I could use some rest before Charlie starts crawling all over me. Go, seriously, I'll be fine." 

Steve's not inclined to argue the point overmuch, feeling like he's yanked Danny's chain enough for one day. So he makes his farewells, texts Rachel from the elevator to say he's left Danny to get some sleep before she arrives and once he's on his way, he calls Noelani to let her know. Her voice sounds tinny through the truck's bluetooth system but it still makes him smile. 

He's actually glad Danny's not here to see that. 

"Hey," she said. "Are you in the car?"

"On my way," he tells her. "Danny says hey." 

Noelani chuckles. "I bet he said a bit more than that," she says and Steve nods, grins, even though she can't see him. 

"Let me guess, your ears were burning?" He pauses as he changes lanes, taking a little more care than he usually might. The way their luck's been going, he wouldn't rule out being in an accident, just the universe throwing another roadblock in his path. "Don't worry, it was all good things." He checks the clock. "I'll be there in twenty." 

"I'll be waiting." There's a pause. Then, "Did that sound desperate?"

He can picture her, eyes narrowed, nose scrunched up, a frown on her face as she considers the question. He thinks it's adorable and it makes him laugh. "No," he says. "It sounds nice." 

He actually makes it to her place in more like fifteen and the smile on her face is even better in person than the one he'd imagined. Good as it looks, it feels even better against his lips and he pulls her close the second he steps across the threshold, kicking the door shut behind him. Noelani’s arms wind around his neck and he lifts her off her feet so that he can turn them around, so that the wall is at her back and he is at her front and all the while he doesn’t stop kissing her. 

He’s trailing a path of kisses down her neck, her hands busy with the buttons of his shirt when he hears her gasp the word, “Dinner,” into his ear. 

“You need to check it?” he asks but when he pulls back to ask the question, there’s a glint in her eyes that he really, really likes the look of. 

“I haven’t even turned on the stove,” she admits and he feels a wide grin spread across his face. He’d known that look was a good thing. 

“Well then...” He shifts against her, liking how she stifles her gasp by biting her lip. “Why don’t we see about working up an appetite?” 

It turns into a very late dinner but neither of them really mind.


	7. snug

“Enjoying the view?” 

Steve smirks as he asks the question, grinning down at Noelani as she sits in one of the lawn chairs at the back of his house, smiling up at him. He’d left her in bed asleep when he’d come out for his usual morning swim, just like he had for the last few mornings this week. He’d expected that, just like the last few mornings this week, he’d towel himself off, go back into the house and find her still asleep, that he’d have the opportunity to slide back into bed beside her, wrap his body around hers and wake her up properly. 

It’s great to see her but honestly? He’s a little disappointed he won’t get to do that - it’s become one of his favourite parts of the day. 

Still though, there’s something nice about her hand being the one reaching up to hold out his towel, something nicer about the towel being faintly warm from the heat of her body. There’s something nice too about seeing her curled up, waiting for him, clad only in the silky shorts and camisole set that he’d peeled off her the previous evening, the shirt that she’d peeled off him - well, torn would be a better word, she’d been a little impatient - keeping her warm. 

Not to mention the grin that crosses her lips as she looks him up and down, her eyes lingering on his shoulders before moving down along his chest and hips. 

Still, “It’s not so bad,” is all she says in response to his question, her words far milder than the glint in her eye that makes him wonder if she too is thinking about how he’s woken her up for the last few mornings. 

“Not so bad?” He can’t resist needling her a little. “I was hoping for a bit more than that...” He finishes drying himself off, considers sitting down in the chair beside hers, then disregards the idea. Instead he taps her on the knee and she seems to get where he’s going quickly enough, shifting and lifting herself enough so that he can join her on the chair. Not that there’s a whole lot of real estate there, she’s more or less sitting on his lap by the time they’ve finished, his arms around her waist, his chin against her shoulder, but he doesn’t have a problem with that. In fact, snug as the fit is, there’s no place else he’d rather be. 

“I was looking forward to waking you up,” he tells her as he presses a kiss to her shoulder. 

“Me too,” she tells him. “It was weird, waking up alone.” She bites her lip then, eyes moving downwards and, yeah, fine, Steve has often been accused of not reading women, not doing relationships well, but he recognises that look. It’s the look of someone who thinks they’ve overspoken. 

Which actually makes sense to him. After all, it’s been barely two weeks since he kissed her for the first time. And most of week one had been spent in quarantine in King’s Medical with Tani, Junior and Danny watching their every move, like he and Noelani were their own personal version of “The Bachelor”. 

And because it makes sense to him, he knows what to do next. So he reaches out, takes her chin very gently in his hand and kisses her. Slowly and carefully, a little more briefly than he might have liked but when he pulls away from her, she is smiling again, her eyes bright when she opens them. 

“I like waking you up,” he tells her quietly. “And I know this feels like it’s moving quickly... but I’m okay with that.” It was a complete reversal from any of his previous relationships but he meant every word. Unless, he thought suddenly, that might not be what she wanted to hear. “But if you need some time, some space...”

He stops talking when she kisses him and this time there’s nothing slow and careful about it. Deep and dirty, she surges into his arms, her hands moving over his shorn hair, her mouth opening against his. He meets her urgency with his own and they’re both panting when they draw back and he’s very happy that this is a private beach. 

She rests her forehead against his, pressing her lips together in a futile effort to keep back her smile. Her cheeks are flushed pink, her hair is mussed and when she speaks, she sounds breathless. “I can’t believe we both have to go to work today.” 

The non sequitur doesn’t surprise him. An avowed workaholic he might be but he’s enjoyed the last week of recuperating from quarantine with her. “Yeah.” Even to his own ears, he sounds far from enthused. “It’s been good... the last few days. Just us.” Something flickers in her eyes then, something dark and worried and suddenly, the penny drops. “It’s not going to change anything.” 

A tiny frown appears between her eyebrows. 

He doesn’t let that stop him, lifts one hand from her hip, touches her cheek. “I know what my job is like,” he tells her. “But I promise... I will always make time for you.” He brings his lips to hers, seals it with a kiss. “Besides,” he adds, forehead once more touching hers, his hand making its way under the silk of her camisole, “we’re getting pretty good at making time...”

The call back to Danny’s words when he’d interrupted their first kiss makes her giggle. Well, that’s the reaction Steve had been going for. But there’s nothing humorous about the way she shifts against him. “Maybe we should practise,” she murmurs as she winds her arms around his neck. “Just to make sure.” 

He doesn’t say anything to that, just nods and kisses her again. 

It turns out that these lawn chairs, as well as being comfortable, are quite sturdily constructed but Steve adds that on to the list of things he’s never telling Danny.


End file.
